Victor Rodman | |
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At right, Ella Hall and Victor Rodman in The Spotted Lily (1917)
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Born |
Augusta, Arkansas |
August 6, 1892
Died | June 29, 1965 Los Angeles, California |
(aged 72)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1914 – 1925; 1953 – 1965 |
Victor Rodman (August 6, 1892–June 29, 1965) was an American actor best known for his work on two Jack Webb NBC television programs, Dragnet and Noah's Ark.
Rodman was born Victor Rottman, in Augusta, Arkansas. Named after his farmer father who was a Hungarian immigrant, he began acting in silent film shorts as early as 1914 and continued in that genre until 1925. During the 1930s and 1940s, he acted in radio dramas such as "Speed Gibson" and "This Is Your FBI". He performed as Dr. Kingsley in "Speed Gibson" and assumed various parts in the FBI series.
After a 30-year absence from the screen, Rodman appeared from 1953-1957 on eight episodes of Dragnet. In 1955, he guest starred in the syndicated series, I Led Three Lives, based on the exploits of communist infiltrator Herbert Philbrick. He played Comrade Arthur in the episode "Commie Dies." Thereafter, he joined the cast of Noah's Ark, which ran for twenty-four episodes. During this 1956-1957 series, he played an older veterinarian, Dr. Sam Rinehart, who uses a wheelchair. Paul Burke portrayed the younger colleague and title character, Dr. Noah McCann. May Wynn starred as the young clinic receptionist, Liz Clark.
In 1958, Rodman guest starred in the role of Rufe Teller in the episode "Drop to Drink" of CBS's Wanted Dead or Alive, a western starring future screen star Steve McQueen. In 1959, he appeared in the episode "Devil's Acre" of the syndicated western, Man Without a Gun.